Carter Is Runaway Rookie of the Year

Vince Carter, a forward who nearly took the Toronto Raptors into the playoffs this season, was the overwhelming choice for the NBA’s rookie of the year on Wednesday.

Carter, who averaged 18.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists a game, received 113 of the 118 first-place votes. Sacramento King guard Jason Williams received three and Boston Celtic forward Paul Pierce got the other two.

Only Shaquille O’Neal and Tim Duncan received a higher percentage of the vote this decade.

Carter, the fifth selection in last year’s draft, led all rookies in scoring and also was a key factor in the Raptors’ improvement from 16-66 in 1997-98 to a 23-27 mark in the abbreviated season this year.

Meanwhile, the National Basketball Players Assn., said it is monitoring Carter’s agent, William Black, who last week had records seized from his office by investigators looking into the illegal recruitment of college football players.

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Hall of Fame center Bill Russell, who led the Boston Celtics to 11 championships in 13 seasons, was honored with a second ceremony at Boston’s FleetCenter at which his uniform No. 6 was retired.

The first ceremony came in 1972, at a nearly empty Boston Garden by his request. Master of ceremonies for Wednesday’s show was Bill Cosby, with thousands of paying spectators. And plenty of other NBA icons--Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Bob Cousy, Julius Erving, Oscar Robertson, John Havlicek--attended.